Pranav Karthik pulled off a major upset, rallying from a set down to knock out fourth seed Udit Kamboj in the second round of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship here on Wednesday (October 7, 2026).

Kamboj won the first set 6-1 and was neck-and-neck with his younger rival in the second set, which went to a tie-break. Karthik won the tiebreak 7-3 and carried that momentum into the decider to win 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in 2 hours and 31 minutes.

“To be honest, I was thinking I was going to lose for sure after the horrible first set,” the 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu said after the win.

“I just kept serving well and maintaining my service games. And when it came to tiebreak, it’s 50-50. Then I just pulled it off with 3-4 good points. When I pulled off the tiebreak, I got more confidence and started going for my shots.

“The first game of the third set is always important because you have to keep pushing through and keep the momentum because you don’t want to give him the breathing space. And thankfully, I got the break in the first game and then I was able to run away with the match after that,” he said.

Meanwhile, men’s top seed Manish Sureshkumar had little trouble defeating Lakshit Sood 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. He was joined in the last eight by No. 6 seed Maan Kesharwani, No. 8 seed Rohan Mehra and Suraj Prabodh, who knocked out second seed Aditya Balsekar in the previous round on Tuesday.

The top five players in the women’s singles draw also booked their spots in the quarterfinals. Vaidehee Chaudhari defeated 16-year-old Ahaan Ahaan 6-4, 6-1, while Shruti Ahlawat beat Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-2, 6-2.

Third seed Akanksha Nitture also advanced, coming back after dropping the second set to defeat Yubrani Banerjee 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

There was also a big upset in the Boys U-18 singles draw as top seed Praneel Sharma was bundled out 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 by Veer Jiten Madam. Fourth seed Om Ramesh Patel and fifth seed Aditya Mor won their third-round matches in straight sets to join Madam in the quarterfinals.

In the Girls U-18 event, top seed Savitha Bhuvaneswaran was stretched to the limit by 14th seed Aahida Singh. The two battled for 2 hours and 45 minutes before Singh was forced to retire, with Bhuvaneswaran leading 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-0.

Bhuvaneswaran was joined by second seed Parthsarthi Mundhe and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury in the quarterfinals.

Suraj Prabodh rallied from a set down to stun second seed Aditya Balsekar at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship on Tuesday (October 6, 2026).

The 31-year-old Prabodh beat Balsekar 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the DLTA Complex.

After losing the opening set, Prabodh adopted a more aggressive approach, a strategy that eventually paid dividends.

“Everybody knows he is a great player,” Prabodh told the media after his win.

“I was just trying to hang in there and especially after the first set, I thought because he was too consistent and he was just everywhere. I thought I should just try to be a little more aggressive and get into the points or start the points a little more aggressively. Somehow I got through it and it was well planned and the execution was also perhaps better.”

Fifth seed Oges Jaya was also knocked out in the first round, losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to big-serving Raghav Jaisinghani. Fourth seed Udit Kamboj, however, avoided an upset with a 6-1, 7-5 win over rising youngster Aditya Mor.

In the women’s singles draw, fifth seed Aditi Rawat, seventh seed Laxmi Siri Dandu, and eighth seed Sohini Mohanty registered wins. Rawat was made to work hard before prevailing 6-3, 7-5 over L Arunkumar.

“In the last game, honestly, I was just focusing on myself,” she said.

“I was trying to just go for my shots. I wasn’t really concerned about the scoreboard or the score. I just tried to give my best in the match.”

The doubles competitions also got underway, with top seeds Manish Sureshkumar/Nitin Sinha advancing to the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Raghav Jaisinghani/Lakshit Sood.

“It was a pretty good match,” Sureshkumar said after the win.

“I think there are a lot of good points. Hopefully our combination works going forward and let’s see how it goes.”

Sinha credited his partner, who is also the top seed in the men’s singles draw, for the win. “He covered everything and it’s always fun playing with him and we are looking forward to the next rounds.”

There was another big upset in the men’s doubles draw, with Aryan Chauhan/Karan Singh combining to knock out second seeds Madhwin Kamath/Rohan Mehra 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

In the boys’ U-18 draw, top seed Praneel Sharma scored a 6-0, 6-3 win over Sarthak Gaikwad to reach the round of 16. Third seed Harsh Malik was upset in the second round, while fourth seed Om Patel, and fifth seed Mor, also advancing to the last 16.

In the girls’ U-18 draw, top seed S Bhuvaneswaran and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury scored comfortable wins to reach the third round.